The 15th Gulf Water Conference concluded by emphasizing the importance of digital upgrading and the use of emerging technologies in the water sector, given their potential to create tremendous transformations to improve water management and enhance its efficiency and flexibility throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
In the closing session, the Vice President of the Gulf Water Science and Technology Society and Chairman of the Conference’s Practical Committee, Professor Dr. Walid Zubari, announced nine recommendations issued by participants in the conference sessions related to digitization and the use of emerging technologies in the water sector, water desalination technology, surface water and groundwater, and wastewater technology. Sanitation and reuse, water safety plans and sanitation safety plans, water use and municipal water sector management, water use and agricultural sector management, management information systems in the water sector, and decarbonisation of the water sector.
Dr. Zubari, in the axis of digital promotion and the use of emerging technologies in the water sector, called for the necessity of linking professionals working in the field of water and professionals working in the field of information and communications technology to overcome many restrictions and obstacles in this field. In the field of water desalination technology, he explained that water desalination will remain the main source of water in the water supply in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, amid expectations that the need for it will increase over time, stressing that the strategic necessity necessitates the localization of the water desalination industry in the region, and addressing the obstacles to this in terms of energy efficiency. , the financial cost, and the environmental impacts (greenhouse gas emissions and their overcoming), highlighting in this regard that renewable and alternative energies represent a great opportunity to reduce these emissions.
With regard to surface water and groundwater, he said that recent data indicate an increase in the frequency of extreme climate events such as rainfall in the region, which is attributed to climate change, which leads to a decrease in the stability of historical climate data. Therefore, it is important to maximize the use of surface water produced and in At the same time, protecting life and infrastructure, noting that flood risk maps and flood simulations based on RCM (Regional Climate Model) predictions represent an important activity in this regard.
He believed that groundwater, both renewable and non-renewable, represents a major source of water for all Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The sustainability of non-renewable groundwater should be based on social and economic criteria, while renewable groundwater will require plans for its reclamation, considering that in addition to demand management and conservation efforts, MAR represents a potential option for supply-side management, especially through excess desalinated water and wastewater. Processing. Moreover, continuous and proactive monitoring, modern simulation modeling, and the presence of management information systems are important components of groundwater resources and their management.
In the field of wastewater technology and its reuse, Dr. Zubari stressed on maximizing the beneficial use of wastewater, especially in its reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture, energy generation, fertilizer production, and refrigeration, indicating that decentralized sewage systems have proven to be more cost-efficient than traditional central systems. And operation.
He concluded the need to adopt water safety plans and sanitation safety plans, calling that the institutionalization and implementation of the action plan and water support plan (i.e. plans based on proactive risk assessment and risk management approaches) represents a great opportunity to ensure safe management of water supplies, protect public health and maximize Health benefits of sanitation.
As for water use and management of the municipal water sector, he said: “The private sector’s participation in providing water supply and sanitation services should be strengthened and increased to improve the quality of service and reduce the cost, and this participation should be organized effectively through a clear contractual framework based on achievements.”
In the axis of water use and agricultural sector management, he pointed out that the digitization of agriculture could be the next transformation in water management, and that the adoption and introduction of emerging technologies (artificial intelligence, RS, IoT, ..) in this field has great potential to increase water productivity and the sector’s contribution. Agriculture in food security, noting that innovative agricultural water management includes: precision irrigation systems, smart irrigation, the use of artificial intelligence, and creating technological integration between water management and addressing climate change.
In the axis of management information systems in the water sector, he stressed that the water management information system is an important component of the water management system to facilitate informed decision-making at various levels in the water sector, as well as policy formulation, adding: “It is important to establish a water management information system as a framework.” “A comprehensive system that integrates data, information, and technologies to collect, process, analyze, and disseminate information related to water quantity, quality, use, and availability.”
In the last item of the recommendations, which is: Decarbonization of the water sector, he pointed out that the water sector can play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which contributes to achieving national commitments to carbon neutrality, especially in the municipal sector, which depends primarily on water-intensive desalination. Energy consumption, indicating that technological solutions such as enhancing energy efficiency, increasing renewable energy, managing demand, and improving efficiency by reducing per capita water consumption and physical leakage, constitute the main field of work to reduce these emissions.
The 15th Gulf Water Conference, organized by the Gulf Water Science and Technology Association in partnership with the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) and in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, discussed over 3 days the best ways to harness the potential of modern technologies to achieve effective management. Water in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and discuss the benefits, costs, risks, required human capabilities, and obstacles facing the implementation of this management.
The conference discussed, through six axes, integrated water resources management, desalination sector management, surface water and groundwater management, wastewater management (treatment and reuse), in addition to domestic water management and agricultural water management.
20 speakers participated in the conference in seven main sessions, where 50 research papers discussed carbon reduction paths in the water sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in cooperation with the General Secretariat, and effective management of the municipal water sector in cooperation with the Arab Water Utilities Union Association, in addition to examining the prospects for science research. Water technologies in cooperation with the UNESCO office in Cairo, and the use of technology to bridge the data gap for effective agricultural water management in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The sessions also addressed topics related to the privatization of the water sector and regulatory aspects, which are organized in cooperation with the Association of Arab Water Utilities Union, and water information systems for integrated water management in cooperation with the UNESCO office in Doha, in addition to examining antimicrobial resistance in municipal wastewater in cooperation with the Program United Nations Environment.
In conjunction with the conference sessions, three training courses were held on the role of the biosaline agriculture approach in sustaining agricultural production in the dry Gulf Cooperation Council countries, organized by the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, designing sanitation safety plans, organized by the World Health Organization, and treating and reusing wastewater in countries. Gulf Cooperation Council, organized by the International Water Management Institute.
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